Bottle breaker



R. J. MCGILL 2,185,349

BOTTLE BREAKER Filed Oct. 13, 1937 2 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR.

RALPH J Ma G/LL MWOL M. ATTORNEY R. J. M GILL BOTTLE BREAKER Jam. 140.

Filed Oct. 13, 1937 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR 1ALPH J MC 6/44 BY ATTORNEY.

Patented Jan. 2, 1940 UNITED STATES FATENT @FMQE.

3 Claims.

This invention relates to bottle breakers and has for one of its objects the provision of a simple yet efficient manually operable means for the breaking or defacement of beverage bottles to render them unfit for further use.

The laws of many jurisdictions now require that when alcoholic liquor bottles have been emptied of their original contents they are to be immediately broken to prevent refilling or any other unlawful use of the same as containers. While some of these laws are understood to require that the bottle be smashed, others simply require that the mouth or neck be so defaced as to prevent any further sealing of the container in repetition of the original use. Therefore the present invention contemplates a simple defacement of the neck structure of the bottle.

I am aware of the fact that a number of bottle breakers have been manufactured and offered to the public but I am also cognizant of the fact that these devices are relatively too expensive, or too difficult to operate, or completely ignore the factor of safety and as a result none of them have been universally adopted.

It is a well known fact that in the breaking of a glass container of any shape extreme care must be exercised to prevent bodily injury from flying fragments or slivers. There have been many instances of accidents resulting from use of some of the prior art structures and those makeshifts which occur to persons having need of devices of this general character.

With these observations in mind I set about the development of a simple, inexpensive structure which would not only efiiciently and conveniently attain the desired results, but which would make suitable provision against injury resulting from the aforementioned causes.

In general my invention comprises a plier-like tool, one end of which is adapted to be inserted in the open mouth of a bottle, the spreading or expansion of which by contraction or operation of the handles will exert sufficient pressure within the bottle neck or mouth to crack or deface that area of the bottle. In addition, my device includes a shield which will serve the purpose of first covering the breakage zone of the bottle and, through the resiliency of the material from 50 which it is made, cause the insertable portion of the tool to be contracted to its original position.

These and other objects will become apparent as the specification proceeds and the novelty of the same will be particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

In the drawings:

Figure l is a front elevation of the preferred form of the bottle breaker forming the subject matter of this application,

Figure 2 is a side elevation of the subject mat- 5 ter of Figure l with the shield shown in section to disclose the relative position of parts,

Figure 3 is a schematic view showing the manner of operating the tool illustrated in Figures 1 and 2, 10

Figure 4 is a fragmentary view, partly in section, disclosing the yieldable means (modified form) for returning the tool to its inoperative position,

Figure 5 is a detailed section taken along the 15 lines 5-5 of Figure 4,

Figure 6 is a perspective view from the under side of a modification of my invention, and

Figure '7 is a top plan view of the modification illustrated in Figure 6. 20

The device illustrated in Figures 1 to 5, inclusive, is comprised of the pli'er-like handle members ii! and H, of identical shape, connected at one of their ends for relative pivotal movement by a pivot pin it. These handle members, it will 25 be noted, are in the form of intersecting reverse curves.

The members it! and H are so designed that when connected and the handles are spread, or let us say in inoperative position, the ends oppo- 30 site the handles thereof coincide to define the cone or tapered end section l3. This tapered end is the portion of the tool which is inserted in the bottle neck to efiect the desired breakage, as will hereinafter become more apparent. When 35 the tool has been inserted in a bottle neck and the handles are contracted, it will be appreciated that due to the connection of the ends at l2, those portions of the handle extensions forming the insertable end IE; will move with relation to each other and exert pressure on the walls of the bottle neck sufficient to crack or break the same (see Figure 3). Tue limits of this relative movement are defined by the complementary stops or shoulders Ill on the handle members.

A substantially bell-shaped shield ll of rubber or like resilient material, serves several purposes in the operation of this bottle breaking tool. In

the first place the shield I1 is attached to the tool in the following manner: An annulus or groove I8 is cut into the cone l3 formed by the extensions of the handle members ill and H. An axial aperture IS in the shield ll, of slightly smaller diameter than the cone 13 as reduced 5 by the groove l8, permits the shield to be slipped over the cone [3 and resiliently engage the same in said groove.

The first function of the shield I! thus connected to the bottle breaking tool, is to serve as a resilient means to return the handle members [0 and I l to their spread position after they have been contracted to effect the desired breakage. The second function of the shield I"! is to prevent fragments and slivers of glass from the bottle neck from flying and bodily injuring the operator or those who may be standing nearby. The third function of the shield I! is as a base for the tool, enabling it to stand in upright position (Figure 1) to be readily grasped.

It will be noted from Figure 3 of the drawings that when the tool is used in conjunction with a conventional alcoholic beverage bottle such as the type illustrated, at 26, the bottom of the shield or rather the mouth of the bell fits very closely about the bottle shoulder when the cone it? has been inserted in the mouth or neck of the bottle. This serves to effectively prevent frag ments or slivers of glass from flying. In case of those beverage bottles having a longer neck portion it will be appreciated that the bell ll is of sufficient depth to efiectively cover the area of the neck likely to be broken upon operation of the tool forming the subject matter of this invention.

Figure 3 also illustrates the distortion of the bell ill from the shape shown in Figure 2 upon contraction of the handles id and H, and the extent to which a bottle of the type illustrated is defaced by the tool.

Figures 4 and 5 of the drawings illustrate a modification of the preferred form of the invention to the extent that here is provided a supplemental means for urging the parts of the bottle breaker back to normal position after operation and thus relieve the fatigue of the material from which the cone i3 is made.

A slot 2! is out in the bottom of the groove [8 in cone E3 to receive a circular spring 22. This spring is anchored in the slot 2! through the provision of a tip 23 bent inwardly for accommoda tion in a hole 25 in the bottom of slot 2!.

It will thus be seen that the circular spring 22 underlies that portion of the rubber shield il in groove i8 and serves as supplemental means to urge the tool back to its inoperative position (see Figure 1).

In the modified form of the invention illustrated in Figures 6 and 7 of the drawings, I have provided a tool formed of a pair of handle members 3t and 35 connected for relative pivotal movement by a pin 32 inserted through the overlapping ear 33 integral with the respective handle portions 39 and 3|.

The insertable cone 34, in this instance, is comprised of a pair of half cones 35 and 36, integral with the handle members 36 and 31, respectively, and lying in a plane substantially at right angles to that portion of the handle members bearin the ears 33 for the pivotal connection. Contraction of the handle members 3i! and 3! serves to spread the half conical members 35 and 35 (see Figure 7) thus exerting an expanding pressure on the walls of the bottle neck sufficient to cause breakage.

In this particular form of the invention the bell-like shield ll is attached by frictionally engaging the half conical members 35 and 36 adjacent the point of their connection to the handle members 30 and Si, or here again the shield ll may be more securely attached to the tool through the provision of an annulus or groove cut in the cone 3% as in the preferred form illustrated in Figures 1 to 5, inclusive. Moreover, if it is desired to supplement the resiliency of the rubber shield l? to cause spreading of the handle members 3!? and 3! to inoperative position, a spring, such as 22, may be provided in the groove in the cone 3 in precisely the manner illustrated in Figures 4 and 5.

In the modified form of the invention illustrated in Figures 6 and '7 of the drawings it will be noted that the handle members 355 and 3| are tapered upwardly away from the flat area from which the ears 33 project, for the purpose of placing the hand of the operator above the breakage zone and preclude any possibility of danger from those glass fragments or slivers which may escape from the shield H.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure by grant of Letters Patent is:

1. In a bottle breaking tool, a pair of handle members connected together adjacent their ends for relative pivotal movement from open to closed position, each of said handles having an integral portion, which portions may be closed together by movement of the handle members into their open position to define a member insertable into a bottle month, a shield of resilient material having an opening therein through which the insertable members are inserted, the size of the opening in said shield and the corresponding portions of said insertable members being such that the insertable members are normally urged by the resilient shield into their closed position.

2. In a bottle breaking tool, a pair of handle members connected together adjacent their ends for relative pivotal movement from open to closed position, each of said handles having an integral portion, which portions may be closed together by movement of the handle members into their open position to define a member insertable into a bottle mouth, an annular slot in said handle members in spaced relation to their connected ends, a shield of resilient material having an opening therein through which said insertable members are inserted, said shield being seated in said slot, the size of the opening in said shield and the size of the handle members as reduced at said slot being such that the insertable members are normally urged by the resilient shield into their closed position.

3. In a bottle breaking tool, a pair of handle members connected together adjacent their ends for relative pivotal movement from open to closed position, each of said handles having an integral portion, which portions may be closed together by movement of the handle members into their open position to define a member insertable into a bottle mouth, an annular slot in said handle members in spaced relation to their connected ends, a coil spring in said annular slot, a shield of resilient material having an opening therein through which said insertable members are inserted, said shield being seated in said slot, the size of the opening in said shield and the size of the handle members as reduced at said slot bein such that the insertable members are normally urged by the resilient shield and said coil spring into their closed position.

RALPH J. McGILL. 

